Page:Johnson - Rambler 2.djvu/218

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
210
THE RAMBLER.
N° 90.
God,———with frequent intercourse,Thither will send his winged messengersOn errands of supernal grace. So sungThe glorious train ascending.

It may be, I think, established as a rule, that a pause which concludes a period should be made for the most part upon a strong syllable, as the fourth and sixth; but those pauses which only suspend the sense may be placed upon the weaker. Thus the rest in the third line of the first passage satisfies the ear better than in the fourth, and the close of the second quotation better than of the third.

The evil soonDrawn back, redounded (as a flood) on thoseFrom whom it sprung; impossible to mixWith blessedness.
———What we by dayLop overgrown, or prune, or prop, or bind,One night or two with wanton growth derides,Tending to wild.
The paths and bow'rs doubt not but our joint handsWill keep from wilderness with ease as wideAs we need walk, till younger hands ere longAssist us.

The rest in the fifth place has the same inconvenience as in the seventh and third, that the syllable is weak.

Beast now with beast 'gan war, and fowl with fowl,And fish with fish, to graze the herb all leaving,
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.